Anything's Possible

Anything’s possible.

When you read those words, does your heart soar with hope? Do you dismiss it with a, “Yeah, right.” Or are you somewhere in between?

I’ve yet to meet a person who would say their life has gone exactly the way they’ve wanted it to go. I have met people who choose to look for the good in the midst of the things that aren’t going as they’d prefer. I’ve met people who continue to dwell on the negative and refuse to see anything positive. And, of course, there are those individuals who are a mixture of all of it!

I’m not saying we should gloss over things and pretend all is well when it’s not. When a negative situation happens, it’s absolutely normal to feel disappointment, anger, hurt, etc. As a friend of mine told me years ago, “feel your feelings.” But eventually, you then need to do something with those feelings other than stay stuck in them.

Our perspective matters more than we often realize it does. We can experience situations that aren’t going the way we want them to and agree that it will “always be this way” or that “it will never get any better.” It’s disappointing to not get what we want, but it doesn’t mean things won’t change. One of the few things we can count on in this life is that change is constant! In these moments of disappointment, it helps to remember that it may last for a time, but it won’t last forever. Staying focused on the part that’s disappointing will more often than not keep us stuck in a place of disappointment.

Stay aware of possibilities.

If we choose to see a disappointing situation as permanent, then that’s what we’ll continue to see. If we choose to view things through the lens of “this is the way it will always be,” chances are, things will remain that way. Even though circumstances may change, our perception can stay cemented in “it will never get any better.”

To stay aware of possibilities means we can work through our disappointment while choosing to see good in the situation even though all of the details aren’t what we’d like them to be. Some of the details may not be what we want, but it doesn’t mean the entire situation is negative.

Not too long ago, a friend described to me the way she was experiencing a new situation and said she was feeling anxious because she wasn't entirely sure what to think of the circumstances. There were a number of things that were not going the way she would have preferred, and so she was quickly heading toward “this isn’t what I wanted and so all of it is terrible.”

I began to ask questions like…

“Do you think it’s possible that you’ll eventually begin to like this new situation you’re in?”

"What are the possibilities that you'll connect with some of the people who are also experiencing these new circumstances?”

Her thought process didn’t immediately shift. I could tell she wanted to stay cemented in “this isn’t what I wanted and so all of it is terrible.” She seemed determined to stay right there. However, after a short time spent considering things could be different than how she was initially seeing them, she came around to seeing possibilities.

What she didn’t realize is that she was making an agreement with the thought “this isn’t what I wanted and so all of it is terrible.” Her words and her thoughts were creating a reality for her that kept her stuck in a place she didn’t want to be in. She’s not the only one who has done this. How many times have you done something similar? You may have been hours, days, or weeks into thinking similar thoughts before you realized it, before something caught your attention.

Again, when a negative situation occurs, I’m not saying we pretend things are great, that we should stuff the disappointment, and then move on. That is the opposite of what I’m communicating!

Feel your feelings.

Acknowledge the disappointment that events didn’t go the way you had hoped or expected. Give yourself time and space to grieve. And then rather than staying stuck there, rather than staying cemented in “all of this is terrible,” choose to see possibilities.

Not quite sure how to navigate a disappointing situation? Are you new to the idea of choosing to see possibilities? I’m happy to talk with you about that or anything else that’s on your heart and mind! Send me an email or schedule some one-on-one time with me. And consider subscribing to my blog where I post lots of helpful suggestions on how you can begin (and continue) this journey of recovering your blueprint!